Mayor Jorge Elorza and Council President Luis A. Aponte today announced the Providence Neighborhood Revitalization Act, a tax incentive program aimed at revitalizing neighborhoods, supporting women- and minority owned business and putting Providence residents to work.

“As Mayor, I have made it a top priority of my administration to eliminate the blight of vacant, abandoned properties in Providence,” Mayor Elorza said. “Working together, we will transform Providence block by block by turning abandoned properties into new affordable homes, putting Minority and Women Owned businesses to work, and taking back our neighborhoods.”

Providence’s new Neighborhood Tax Stabilization program will encourage economic development in the city’s under-invested, low- to moderate-income neighborhoods by providing developers transparency and predictability. The incentive program phases in taxes over a six year period, with no tax increase in the first year and 20 percent increases in each of the next five years.

“Since the beginning of the foreclosure crisis and the Great Recession of 2008, Providence’s neighborhoods have been reeling,” said Council President Aponte. “We have seen properties sit vacant or abandoned for months and years at a time, deteriorating our housing stock and causing further drops in property values. The Providence Neighborhood Revitalization Act gives the city a new tool to combat these trends, bring new investment to our communities, and create economic opportunity for residents.”

Eligible projects must be between $250,000 and $3 million, and can include commercial, multi-family, and mixed-use projects as well as both new construction and the rehabilitation of existing properties.

Nineteen of Providence’s 25 neighborhoods have been designated as Opportunity Neighborhoods, eligible for the new Neighborhood TSA:

The Neighborhood TSA is an administrative program; projects do not need to be approved by the administration or City Council.

At the same time, the program provides important protections for Providence’s taxpayers and residents. Projects will be required to make a good faith effort to include women- and minority-owned business participation and to employ Providence residents.

The program excludes certain types of development, such as adult entertainment and nightclubs.

First passage of the Providence Neighborhood Revitalization Act by the City Council is scheduled for tonight.